Gas burner control and ignition system



Aug. 28, 1934. s. CASTONGUAY GAS BURNER CONTROL AND IGNITION SYSTEM 1Filed March 5, 1930 3 Sheets-Sheet 1 INVENTZ)? 1 Layer ,5. aslzazzguu BYAug. 28, 1934.

L. s. CASTONGUAY 1,971,704 GAS BURNER CGNTROL AND IGNITION SYSTEM FiledMarch 1930 a Sheets-Sheet 2 INVENTCLNYR Leger S. astongua ag g H fig, Q26:

ATTORNEY Aug. 28, 1934- L. s. CASTONGUAY GAS BURNER CONTROL AND IGNITIONSYSTEM Filed March 5, 19 30 3 Sheets-Sheet 3 INVENTOR Lag 5.61zstaW BY 2ATTORN Patented Aug. 28, 1934 UNITED STATES GAS BURNER CONTROL-ANDIGNITION SYSTEM J Leger S. Castonguay, Cuyahoga Falla'ohio, al-

signor to The Patrol Valve Company, Cleveland,

Ohio, a corporation of Ohio Application March 3, 1930, Serial No.432,708

23 Claim.

This invention relates to safety ignition controls for gas applianceshaving a plurality of burners adapted to be ignited from a' singlecontinuously operating pilot burner.

B My improved gas burner control is particularly adapted for use incombination with a single pilot igniter burner adapted for the selectiveignition of the individual burners of a gas range. Such lighters may bebroadly divided into two classes.

First; the flash tube type in which a constantly burning pilot ismaintained adjacent the range burners and enclosed in a housing havingtubes leading to theindividual burners for the purpose of conducting gastherefrom to the pilot light so 16 that upon supplying gas to any one ofthe burners a certain portionof it is conveyed to the pilot light whereit isignited, flashes back through the tube and ignites the burner.

Lighters of this type are disclosed in the fol- 20 lowing patents: C. H.Schaetzel 1,036,727-0. E. Methudy 1,675,899 and W. F. Dester, 1,688,487.

The second type of lighter is commonly referred to asa torch igniter andcomprises a continuously operating pilot burner adjacent the rangeburners which operates ordinarily with a small flame under control of apush-button valve so that when gas is supplied to one of the burners thepilot valve may be operated momentarily to increase the gas supply ofthe-pilot and flash a flame from 80 the pilot light to the burners,igniting whichever one is being supplied with gas at that time. Inaddition to these two main classes of igniters there arefjvarious typesof lighters which present certain' modifications and embody in one wayor 85 anot ea fundamental principles disclosed by lighters.

, iof, the torch type are disclosed in the following, patents: A. O.Rutz l,20'l,44l-F. J. Legrer et a1. 1,259,535 and E. L. Claus 1,339,102.

40 The flash tube igniters referred to above, provide a certain measureof safety in the'operation of a gas range for in the event ofextinguishment of the burner through any accidental cause such as fromthe boiling over of liquids that are subjected to the heat of the gasflame, the burner is automatically re-ignited in themanner accom--plished upon the initial opening of the gas supply to the burner; Thisoperation requires the presence of a flame at the pilot burner and inthe absence of such a flame the ignition system is inoperative and undersuch conditions there is the possibility of a very hazardous conditionarising due to the escape of raw gas with no provision for its ignition.

One of the objects of my invention is to provide a combined safetycontrol and gas range ignition system which is adapted to cut off thesupply of gas to the range burners in the event of extinguishment of theflame of the ignition pilot burner.

Another object of my invention is to provide in an appliance of the typedisclosed, an improved and quick-acting igniter for the burners such asthe oven burners which are located at a considerable distance from thepilot light.

Another object of my invention is to provide an igniter for the enclosedor oven burner of a range which may be operated in conjunction with theopening of the oven door for the dual purpose of facilitating theignition of this burner and for insuring that the initial ignitonthereof takes place with the oven door in open position for the quietlighting thereof. v

Another object of my invention is to provide an improved thermostaticcut-off valve which is par- '75 ticularly adapted for the purposeintended and for use in combination with igniters of the type disclosedin this application.

Another object of my invention is to provide an improved thermostaticshut-off valve which is adapted to close in a very short interval oftime upon the extinguishment of the burner the heat of which maintainsthe valve in open position.

A further object of my invention is to provide a generally simplifiedand inexpensive control device for gas ranges which positively insuresthe safe operation of the range at all times and under all conditions.

By reason of my improved construction the escape of raw gas from any ofthe burners of the range is prevented. Upon accidental extinguishment ofany of the main burners. the said burner is immediately andautomatically re-ignited. Noisy ignition and popping of the oven burnerupon the initial lighting is prevented by reason of 96 the mode ofoperation requiring the opening of the oven doors in order to effectsuch ignition of this burner.

4 With these and other objects in view, the invention consists in thenovel construction, ar- 100 Referring to the drawings, Fig. l is a planview of a gas range embodying one form of my invention. Fig. 2 is afront elevational view of the gas range shown in Fig. 1. Fig. 3 is anend elevational view 'of'the gas range shown in Fig. 1. Fig. 4 is a planview, partly in section of the combined igniter and cut-ofi valve. Fig.5 is a side elevational view partly in section of the combination ofelements shown in Fig. 4. Fig. 6 is a side elevational view showing thefuel supply lines from the stove manifold to the oven burner and theflash tube thereof. Fig. 7 is a plan view of the oven burner supplyvalve. Fig. 8 is a side elevational view partly in section showing thedetails of the oven supply valve control. Fig. 9 is a view correspondingto Fig. 8 showing the valve in a diiferent position.

For the purpose of illustration, I have shown my improved burner controland ignition system in combination with a conventional domestic range inwhich the numeral 1 refers to a gas range adapted to be supplied withgaseous fuel by way of the gas supply line 2 which connects with amanifold 4 for the distribution of the gas to the various burners of therange. A thermostatic shut-off valve 3 is interposed between the supplyline 2 and the manifold 4 for the purpose of cutting off the gas supplyto the range and manifold upon the extinguishment of an ignition pilotlight. The manifold 4 is adapted to receive a number of manuallyoperable control valves 18 for controlling the gas supply to the opentop burners 5 of the range.

The range is provided with an oven having an upper and a lower door 19and 20 respectively and is further provided with a burner 6 undercontrol of the gas supply valve '7 which is in communication with themanifold 4. This control valve for the oven burner communicates with athermostat 9 which is provided for the purpose of automaticallymaintaining the temperature of the oven at a predetermined point. Thegas supply line leading from the oven regulator or thermostat 9 isindicated by the numeral 10 and communicates with the oven burner mixingtube 11 by way of the fittings 50. l

The open or top burners 5 of the range are adapted to be ignited by ablue flame pilot burner 14 carried in an ignition device 12 which isprovided with a number of radially extending conduits 13 one of which isadapted to terminate adjacent each of the burners 5. Upon the opening ofany one of the valves 18 gas is supplied to the burner controlledthereby and a certain amount of the gas issuing from the particularburner is injected into one of the adjacent tubes 13 in the manner setforth in the Methudy patent previously mentioned whereupon an explosivemixture is generated in the tube which is ignited by the pilot burner 14and which causes a flame to flash from the pilot 14 to the burner 5causing its ignition. The oven burner 6 is provided with a similarignition device adapted to be under control of the pilot burner 14. Theignition and control of the oven burner will be disclosed in detailpresently.

The gas conduit leading to the oven thermostat 9 is provided with asmall gas valve 17 which controls a supply of gas to the tube 16 theopen end of which acts as a pilot light for the oven burner 6. 1 The endof the conduit 16 terminates at a point directly below the flash tube 39of the oven burner so that the gas issuing therefrom is available forthe purpose of igniting the oven'bumer by means of the pilot light 14.The oven regulator 9 is provided with a manually settable wheel 21 bywhich the oven temperature may be regulated and maintained at anypredetermined point.

The pilot burner 14 is located in a cup or housing 12 provided withsuitable apertures for the circulation and supply of secondary airnecessary liquid used in connection with my improved valve to supportits flame. Immediately above the pilot burner 14 there is located theclosed end portion 23 of a tube 22 which connects with anexpansiblecontractible element or bellows 25. The stated tubes andbellows constitute a sealed chamber adapted for the reception of athermo-sensitive fluid which serves to expand or contract the bellows inaccordance with the operation of the pilot burner 14. A plug 26 isprovided in one end of the bellows for the purpose of sealing thechamber after it has been charged with a thermosensitive fluid.

There are a large number of fluids which may be used for this purposesuch as; ether, alcohol, water and most any liquid which is adapted tovaporize when subjected to the heat available and which will not attackthe material of its container or break down under the heat to which itis subjected to form other compounds. The specific does not form a partof this invention. 1 have found that suitable operating conditions maybe obtained by either completely or partially filling the tubes 22 and23 and the bellows 25 with a liquid so that when the portion 23 of thetube is heated the liquid therein is vaporized and the bellows isexpanded by an amount proportional to the volume of liquid displaced atthis portion of the device.

In a device of this kind it is extremely important that the safetyshut-off valve close in a very short time after extinguishment of itsheating flame. My improved valve is particularly adapted for thispurpose. The low heat capacity of the tube 23 permits its quick coolingallowing the rapid 0011- densation of vapors therein with theaccompanying contraction of the bellows 25. By the proper selection of afilling liquid having a high or a low boiling point-the valve may bemade to operate within a predetermined range of temperatures. Itsoperating characteristics may be further varied by varying the pressureto which the fluid is subjected through the adjustment of the valveports.

A section of pipe or protection tubing 24 is provided for the receptionof the tube 22 in order to protect this tube from accidental breakage orbending and furthermore to insulate it from the influence of the heat ofthe adjacent burners 5. The tube 22 is preferably formed from copper andthe end portion 23 is formed from Monel metal and they joined togetherin any suitable manner such as by hard soldering, brazing or welding. Byreason of this construction the soft copper tube permits the device tobe bent in any desired shape and the Monel metal tube 22 is highlyresistant to any harmful action of the pilot burner 14 or any otherflame to which it might be exposed, thus providing a device which may bereadily applied to a variety of appliances by reason of the ability ofthe copper tubing to be bent to any desired shape and one in which longlife is assured by reason of the use of a heat and corrosion resistantmetal for the portion of the tube which is subjected to any considerableamount of direct heat. Obvi- 1 0 ously copper and Monel metal could bereplaced 1 by other materials so long as they possessed the desirablecharacteristics as set forth. 1

The unit defined by the bellows 25 and tubes 1 22 and 23 is carried byan adjusting member 32 145 1 which is adapted to be adjustably receivedin the valve body 31. A locknut 33 serves to lock the bellows andadjusting member 32 in the desired position. A .valve head 27 issupported on the movable or free end of the bellows 25 and coop- 150erates with a valve seat 28 formed in the valve body 31 for the purposeof controlling fluid flow through the valve. A compression spring 29engages the valve head 2'? at one end and at its other end is supportedby the closure cap 30 which is provided for sealing a side opening inthe valve body 31 which is provided for the macontrol valve 35 ofsimilar construction to the valve plug, gas is first supplied to theoutlet 42 valve 7 and which inturn is connected to the conduit 15leading to a combined gas and air mixing tube and needle control valve34 for the burner 14. The above noted bypass from the valve body 31being in the inlet side oi the valve communicates at all times. with thegas supply conduit 2. A second by-pass outlet 36 communicates with thegas .supply line at the outlet side of the valve 3 and is connected tothe pilot feed line 15 by way of the conduit 37 and the threeway valve35. With the thermostatic valve 3 in the closed or cold position thedevice is placed in operation by opening the valve 35 so as to place thebypass from the valve body 31 in communication with the conduit 15 andthen lighting the pilot 14 and in a few moments the thermostatic valve 3is opened under influence oi the heat from the pilot burner. Upon theopening of the thermostatic valve, the three-way valve 35 is manuallyoperated to place the pilot 14 in communication with the bypass 36 andconduit '37 and at the same time out off communication with the bypassoutlet from the valve body 31. The purpose 01' this arrangement is toutilize the thermostatic valve 3 for cutting off the gas supply to thepilot burner 14 upon the extinguishment thereof and to provide a meansfor initially supplying gas to the pilot when the valve 3 is closed. 1

The oven burner control while being adapted to work in the mannerdescribed in connection with any of the burners 5 is further providedwith a means for injecting a certain amount of gas into its flash tubeto insure instantaneous ignition of this burner. The elements wherebythis is accomplished comprise a three-way oven burner supply valve 7which is operatively associated with the lower door 20 of the oven. Thevalve 7 is provided with a main and auxiliary outlet passage 41 and 42respectively and is provided. with a rotatable plug 43 having anaperture adapted to provide successive communication be-- tween thevalve inlet 44 and outlets 42 and 41. A crank 45 is rigidly connectedwith the plug 01 the valve. This crank is pivotally connected to. alever 46 having an L shaped slot 47 at its lower) portion provided forreception or a pin 48 carried on a bracket 49 which is rigid with theoven door 20.

Thus, upon opening the oven door 20 the pin 48 engages the connectingrod 46 rotatingthe valve plug 43 through one-quarter of a turn to theposition shown in Fig. 8. In this turning of the communicating with theflash tube' 39 and then "to the outlet 41 which communicateswith andsupplies gas to the oven burner 6. The tube 39 side in order to insurean explosive mixture in the tube through the intermingling of air andthe gas supplied thereto by way of the conduit 38. From the mode ofoperation just stated it will be apparent that upon the opening of theoven door 20 gas will be first supplied to flash tube 39 and thence tothe burner 6. In this manner an explosive mixture of gas and air issupplied to the tube 39 and in the event that the pilot burner 14 isoperating, a flame is flashed from the pilot burner to the oven burner 6practically instantlyl igniting the same. As this ignition takes placewith the oven door open the force of the minor explosion incidentalthereto is so rapidly dissipated that there is no noise or otherterrifying circumstance attendant to the lighting of the oven burner.

The oven burner 6 is further provided with an outlet port 54 adjacent tothe open end of the tube 39 providing second means for injecting gasinto the tube 39 in order to eiIect the ignition of this burner in themanner stated in connection with the burner 5. The. pilot burnerprovided by the open end or the pilot supply tube 16 being locatedbelow: the end of the tube 39 also assists in the ignition of the burner6 upon the extinguishment of its pilot and flame. Such ignition wouldoccur only in the event of extinguishment of the flames of both theburner 6 and its pilot flame supported by the conduit 16. The controloperated by the oven door is adapted to be manually operated by theknurled end 51 of the valve plug 43 which plug is tapered and held ingas tight position in its body by a spring 53. The main outlet 41 of thevalve 7 communicates with the oven regulator by way of the conduits 52and 8. The outlet side of the oven regulator connects with the conduit10 and thence to the oven burner 6 by way of the fittings 50 and themixing tube 11.

The oven control valve 7 may be manually controlled by the connectingrod 46 either independently of the operation of the oven door 20 or inconjunction with the operation of this door; that is, when it is desiredto operate the valve 7 the same may be manually rotated by turning theknurled end 51 or bymanually shifting the connecting rod 46 up or down.In order to further facilitate the closing of the oven supply valve theslot 4'7 is provided with a horizontal portion so that the rod 46 may bedisplaced inwardly toward the stove and if the door is then closed thevalve 7 will be caused to close at the same time assuming the positionshown in Fig. 9.

From the foregoing it is apparent that my improved control and ignitionsystem is adapted to safely control the ignition and operation of aplurality oi! gas burners by means of the combination of a singleignition pilot and associated thermostatic cut-off valve. Upon openingof any one of the ifuel supply valves of the various burners of theappliance, immediate ignition thereof is efiected and upon accidentalextinguishment of such burner it is automatically re-ignited in themanner previously described. In the event of extinguishment of the pilotlight my im-, proved thermostatic cut-offvalve quickly shuts oil themain gassupply to all of the burners including the pilot burner and inorder to restart the device it will be necessary to go through. theoperations previously described and by reason of this arrangement itwould be impossible to have gas escape from any of the burners in theabsence of a flame for the ignition thereon, Due to the extreme rapiditywith which my cut-oil 75 is provided with a series or holes 40 in itsunderl valve worke I am able to shut off the gas supply of the range infrom ten seconds to a minute after the pilot light has beenextinguished.

Furthermore, it is to be understood. that the particular forms ofapparatus shown and described, and the particular procedure set forth,are presented for purposes of explanation and illustration and thatvarious modifications of said apparatus and procedure can be madewithout departing from my invention as defined in the appended claims.

Having thus described my invention, what I claim is:

1. An automatic igniter for a gas burner having ports for the emissionof gas comprising a pilot burner, a casing enclosing said pilot burnerand having an opening through the wallthereof, a conduit having openingsintermediate its open ends communicating at one end with the opening ofsaid casing and having its opposite and terminating adjacent a port ofthe gas burner for receiving and conducting gas from the burner to thepilot burner for effecting the ignition of the gas burner, andsupplemental means for discontinuously injecting a quantity of gas intosaid conduit.

2. An automatic igniter as set forth in claim 1 wherein the. gas burneris housed in an oven, and a door for the oven is associated with saidsupplemental means for injecting a quantity of gas into said conduitupon opening said door.

3. An automatic igniter as set forth in claim 1 wherein the supplementalmeans comprises a three-way supply valve adapted in its openingoperation to successively supply gas to said conduit and to the gasburner.

4. A gas burner having flame supporting ports. a source of gas supplytherefor, an oven'for said burner, a door for said oven, a continuouslyoperating pilot burner, a flash tube adapted to convey gas from a portof said burner to the flame of said pilot to effect the ignitionthereof, and a three-way valve associated with said oven door forinjecting a primary supply of gas into said flash tube and for placingsaid oven burner in communication with the source of gas supply, saidvalve being adapted for operation independently of said oven door.

5. A device as set forth in claim 4 wherein the three-way valve isconnected to the oven door by means'of a lost-motion connector wherebythe valve is opened by the opening of the oven door and normallyunaffected by the closing of the oven door.

6. A device as set forth in claim 4 wherein the three-way gas supplyvalve upon the opening of the oven door supplies a limited amount of gasto said flash tube and then establishes communication between the gassupply line and the gas burner, said valve remaining in this positionupon the closing of the oven door.

7. A device as set forth in claim 4 wherein the opening of the oven dooralways insures the opening of said valve and selective means whereby theclosing of the oven door serves to close said valve or not affect itsposition at the will of the operator.

' 8. An automatic igniter for a fluid fuel burner comprising a primaryigniter spaced from the burner, a conduit extending between the igniterand the burner, for conducting gas from the burner to the igniter, andsupplemental means for discontinuously injecting a quantity of fuel intosaid conduit intermediate the ends thereof.

10. An ignition system of the kind described, comprising a burner, apilot spaced therefrom, and a flash tube adapted to receive fuel fromthe burner to be conveyed to the pilot, means for controlling the supplyof fuel to the burner, and means interoperated with said control meansfor injecting a secondary supply of fuel into said flash tubeintermediate the ends thereof.

11. An ignition system including a primary igniter, a burner spacedtherefrom, a conduit extending between the two and adapted to receivefuel from the burner, and means for discontinuously supplying asecondary quantity of fuel to said conduit.

12. An ignition system comprising a primary igniter, a burner, a conduitbetween the two, a supply of fuel for the burner, the burner havingmeans providing a primary source of fuel to the conduit, means providinga secondary source of fuel to the conduit, and a single meanscontrolling both said sources of fuel.

13. An ignition system comprising a primary igniter, a burner, a conduitbetween the two, a supply of fuel for the burner, the burner havingmeans providing a primary source of fuel to the conduit, means providinga secondary source of fuel to the conduit, and means for supplying bothsaid sources with fuel and then supplying only one.

14. A safety fuel control and ignition device for gas ranges adapted tomaintain one or more of the main gas burners of the range in normaloperation 'as long as gas is supplied thereto, and to cut off the supplyof gas to said burners upon the failure of the ignition means,comprising the combination of a plurality of spaced main gas burners, asource of gas supply therefor, means for controlling and operating saidburners independently of each other, a continuously operating pilotburner positioned at a point outside the range of normal lightingproximity to said main gas burners, means cooperating with said pilotburner to effect the ignition of gas issuing from said main burners, anormally closed thermostatic valve adapted to open solely in response toheat supplied by the flame of the pilot burner and to close uponextinguishment thereof for controlling the gas supply of said burners inaccordance with the operation of said pilot burner, and means forselectively connecting said pilot burner to said source of gas supplyfrom a point either ahead of or behind said thermostatic valve.

15. In an ignition system, a burner, a primary igniter for said burner,a fuel supply line for said burner, a cut-off for said supply lineresponsive only when said igniter is operative for opening said fuelline, a second fuel supply line for said primary igniter, and means forselectively connecting said second supply line either ahead of or behindsaid cut-off.

16. In an ignition system, a burner, a primary igniter for said burner,a fuel supply line for said burner, a cut-off for'said supply lineresponsive only when said igniter is operative for opening said fuelline, a second fuel supply line for said primary igniter connectedbehind the cut-off so the fuel supply to the igniter is discontinuedwhen said igniter is inoperative, and means for selecsaid opening, aprimary igniter operable independently of said enclosure or itselements, a fuel line to the burner, means for conveying fuel from theburner to the primary igniter, the fuel supply to the burner -and fromthere to the primary igniter being controlled by operation of saidclosure.

19. A device as set out in claim 18, wherein is provided means forsupplying additional fuel to the conveying means.

20. A device as set out in claim 18, wherein is provided means forsupplying additional fuel to the conveying means, the same beingcontrolled by operation of the closure.

21. A device as set out in claim 17, in which the burner fuel line andsaid further means for conveying additional fuel may also be controlledindependently of the closure.

22. A device as set out in claim 18, wherein the fuel supply to theburner may also be controlled independently of the closure.

23. An ignition system comprising a main burner, a pilot, a continuousflash tube interconnecting the main burner and the pilot, meanssupplying fuel to the flash tube at the burner end thereof, andadditional means for supplying fuel to the tube intermediate its ends.

LEGER S. CASTONGUAY.

Wil i

